Path to EPA

0 Comments | Oakland Tribune, Sep 27, 2007

IAM the luckiest person in the whole world. When Archbishop William Levada asked me to be the pastor of St. Francis of Assisi Church in East Palo Alto in 2003, I was delighted.

Before that, I spent five years at St. Anthony's in Redwood City, and while it was one of my favorite assignments, I looked around at all the churches within the Archdiocese and realized St. Francis in East Palo Alto was next on my list.

What I like most about St. Francis is the people.

I met many of the Mexican families even before I came here, because when I was in Redwood City, they were beginning to move to East Palo Alto.

In the late 1980s, I visited Mexico and immediately ran into people I knew. In fact, I met a family whose children I had baptized In Redwood City. So when they saw me in the church, they insisted that I stay in their home, which I did.

This whole region of Mexico, where these people come from, has a tradition of doing "danzas," which are like Irish reels. The music is mainly violin and sometimes the harp, and everyone takes part as a way of honoring the patron saint whose feast is being celebrated. It's lots of fun.

We will be doing it after the 9:30 a.m. Mass on Oct. 7 at St. Francis at 1425 Bay Road to honor our patron saint.

The second visible community at St. Francis are the Pacific Islanders, mainly from Tonga.

They too have a rich culture with beautiful native dress, song, and dance which is similar to the Hawaiians', but different.

They have beautiful voices and love to sing. You can hear and see them for yourself at the 12:30 p.m. multilingual Mass on Oct. 7.

Then there is the African-American community. They go back to the beginning of our church in East Palo Alto, more than 50 years ago. They, too, bring a rich tradition of music, very different from the Mexican and Tongan traditions, but very beautiful. Our Gospel choir sings with a lot of enthusiasm and energy. You can also hear them at the 12:30 p.m. multilingual Mass on

Oct. 7.

East Palo Alto, as you read in the papers, is not perfect. We have the highest crime rate and the lowest test scores.

But that doesn't tell the whole story about East Palo Alto. Did you know that seven young men from one of our youth groups went off to Washington D.C. to study for the priesthood, or that the three young women from that group went off to the convent?

One of them was making tacos in a local taqueria when I arrived here four years ago and now is a nun in Arequipo, Peru.

Did you know that a young man whose family lives in our parish will be ordained a deacon in November and a priest in June for the Archdiocese of San Francisco?

As we prepare to celebrate our patron and the patron of the Archdiocese and the whole Bay Area, please join me in praying for our wonderfully diverse community; pray for a lower crime rate and higher test scores; and many more vocations to the priesthood and religious life. And thank you, Lord, for allowing me to be a part of this remarkable place.

The Rev. Larry Goode is pastor at St. Francis of Assisi Church in East Palo Alto.

Next week: Kim Ettlinger.